MDOT given control of Gateway Project; Ambassador Bridge company ordered to pay $16 million for construction costs

MLive DetroitAmbassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun was in court this morning for a Gateway Project hearing, however Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards excused him so he could attend a relative's funeral.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Prentis Edwards ruled this morning that the Detroit International Bridge Company has not demonstrated it is or will comply with his February 2010 order to complete the Ambassador Bridge Gateway Project.

He then ordered DIBC to relinquish control of the Gateway Project to MDOT and said DIBC must place $16 million into an escrow account to pay for MDOT Gateway costs.

Edwards was clearly fed up with the now 25 month process to get DIBC to comply with his Gateway order.

“I believe it is significant to note that we are here almost eight years
after the contract was entered into in April of 2004 and over two years
since the February 1, 2010 order and we are almost in the same
position,” he said as he explained his decision.

During the morning hearing, DIBC attorney Godfrey Dillard and Assistant Attorney General Robert Mol sparred over the progress made since early February when DIBC created the independent "Gateway Expansion Project Committee" to take responsibility for completing the project.

Dillard said engineers for DIBC and MDOT have met twice in the last month. He added that MDOT even gave preliminary approval for construction plans for the contested piers 11, 12, and 13. He said work can now begin on final construction drawings. He also criticized MDOT for failing to respond to requests for further meetings.

“We requested additional meetings, but we did not get cooperation from MDOT,” Dillard said. “Where is the sense of urgency on that?”

Mol countered that while MDOT was "cautiously optimistic" about DIBC's progress, he added that DIBC’s Gateway committee, particularly Dan Stamper, have continued to argue in favor of maintaining the controversial pier 19, which Mol said would hamper access to a truck road.

"We've received new concept drawings that appear to show pier 19 out of the path of the truck road," Mol said. "Then we get additional drawings that show, not in conflict, but taking up more of Fort Street--again another design inconsistent with agreed design."

Mol argued that pier 19 is not part of the original Gateway design, but instead built for the purposes of DIBC's desire to build a second-span for the Ambassador Bridge, a project that does not have the required federal approval on either side of the border.

In the end, it appears whatever progress DIBC has made was too little too late for Edwards after two years of legal wrangling since his order. His ruling today requires DIBC to pay for the Gateway's completion (estimated to cost $16 million) but to leave the work to MDOT.

That decision was a surprise even to MDOT officials.

"We certainly weren't expecting this order from the judge, but we will do everything we can to comply with it and cooperate with the Bridge Company in terms of figuring out how to get the project done," said MDOT engineer Tony Kratofil outside the courtroom. "Certainly, it helps us get compliance with what's in the agreement. There won't be any arguments now about that."

Today's ruling doesn't, however, get DIBC or its officers completely off the hook. Edwards did not purge the contempt citations against Moroun and Stamper.

The company is also responsible for any costs above that $16 million construction estimate. They'll also have to work with MDOT to coordinate construction plans so the Ambassador Bridge can remain open at the project is completed.

And Edwards said the special committee structure established by DIBC does not absolve DIBC officers from responsibility for completing the Gateway.

"The statutes of the state certainly permit the corporation to set up committees," Edwards said. "However, the transfer of responsibility that is being suggested here is not sanctioned by the statutes of the state nor the case law."

As such, he ordered Moroun, his son Matthew Moroun, and Stamper to return to his court on March 22 for another hearing about the project's status. It's possible, under the guidelines established by the Michigan Court of Appeals, that Edwards could again jail the three men for civil contempt if he is not satisfied with DIBC's cooperation with MDOT or if the $16 million account has not been created.

Matty Moroun was in court briefly this morning, but he was excused shortly after the hearing commenced to attend a relative’s funeral. Matthew Moroun and Stamper both attended the hearing.